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1 Creativity Foreign Song Competition By Kevin Su Speak softly love and hold mee warm against your heart. I feel your words, the tender trembling moments start Tang Jr-Hau sang thee theme song s of The Godfather for the Creativity Foreign Song Competition an event held at every anniversary of Jinwen University. The competition not only showcased musical talent but also includedd a funnyy dance performed by the contestants Su and Chuan-Jen. All the contestants amazed the audience with their performan nces. It was a rather competitive affair; from the elimination to the final round, all the contestan nts put forward their best efforts and were eager to win. They put in all that hard work because the winners would get a scholarship.. The Creativity Foreign Song Competition, which has been held for the past four years, is a platform for budding singers. s Paul Lu, Director of the International Cooperation and Exchanges Division of the R& &D Office, said that the spirit of this activity was to inspire and encourage students to develop an interest in international music. Listening to different music and learning the lyrics will help them improvee their second-language abilities without being forced to do so. The students also a learnn to set goals for themselves and followw them through. This attractive and fun Creativity Foreign-Song Competition is a tradition that will continue for years to come.

2 Christmas Day By Frank Lin Christ C tmas Day commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated by Christians the world over. o On Christmas day, devotees attend the morning mass at church too celebrate the birth of Christ and inspire the Christian spirit. However, today, original concepts are no longer deemed as important. They can build close relationship with their relatives, friends, and others by love and concern on Christmas Day. They also introspectt on their actions through the year and make resolutions to change them. Although they think that celebrating Christmas is merely a tradition, they naturally experience the principles of Christmas kindness, joy, peace, patience, gratefulness, sincerity, friendship, gentleness, and abstinence. Today, Christmas is not just celebrated in the West. Other countries like China, Macau, Malaysia,, and Singapore also organize a number of Christmas activities. Christmas Day is i a publicc holiday even in these places. Christmas usually brings to mind images of Christmas trees,, ham, firewood, and gifts. Moreover, people do not want to miss indulging in the following Christmas-related activities: Sending Christmass Greetings In America and Europe, people write and send their t friends, relatives, and acquaintances Christmas cards inn order to maintain their relationships. They may also attach a family photograph or announce good g news in thesee cards. Decorating the Christmas treee Evergreen trees such as Chinese fir or cypress aree used as Christmas trees. The Christmas tree symbolizes longevity. It is usually decorated with small lamps or candles, toys, stars, and so on. A decorated Christmas treee creates a joyful atmosphere.

3 Eating the Christmas Feast The Christmas feast is one of f the main activities on Christmas Day. The spread is more deliciouss and elaborate than that on weekends. The most important dish is turkey. It not onlyy serves as food but b also ass a dinner table decoration. While adults are busy preparing the meal, decorating thee house, and so on, children spend their time t thinking about the gifts they will receive. In some countries, children keep out empty containers for Santa Claus to fill with gifts like toys, candy, or fruit. In America, children hang stockings on the fireplace because they believe that Santa Claus enters the house through the chimney on Christmas Eve and fills their stockings with gifts. People celebrate Christmas Day all over the world. Although they may not necessarily commemorate the birth of Jesus, I think that Jesus would be happy just knowing that people enjoy thee celebrations of Christmas. Resource: Information about Christmas C Day from the Internet

4 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Chr ristmas Day, generally observed on DecemberD r 25, is a holiday to commemorate Christianity. Christmas is celebrated By Betty Tung the birth of Jesus Christ, the symbol of as an importantt festival and public holiday in most countries worldwide, even in countries where the majority of the population is not Christian. In Taiwan, Christmas is a very important day. When Christmas approaches, you can see many beautifully decorated trees on thee roads. The entire city is filled with the joy of Christmas. Exchanging gifts or candy is a common occurrence, and people bake delicious food, and hold parties. Some children mayy dress up Everyone enjoys the happiness that Christmas brings. It is not cakes, prepare as Santaa Claus. just a holiday; it brings people together. Have a wonderful Christmas! Merry Christmas and Happyy New Year!

5 The Specialty Coffee Club! By Betty Tung Do you like coffee? Are you interested in learning how to make coffee? Join the Specialty Coffeee Club! The club will be established in a short time, and a you will soon be able to learn many things about coffee. The Specialty Coffee Club has h been conceptualized by Wen-Tingg Chang, a teacher in the department of hotel management. Ms. Changg is a coffee lover who has spent a lot off time gaining knowledge about coffee and researching the latestt information. She emphasizes that drinking specialty coffee is a healthy practice. Good coffee can be relaxing. She wants the Specialty Coffee Club to provide studentss with a break from their busy lives and be a place where they can learn more aboutt coffee. Besides learn about coffee in your free time, you can interact with people from other departments. If you would like to join the club, contact Ms. Chang via (wenting@just.edu.tw). I am sure she will be more than happy to reply to any of your queries and will welcome you with open arms. Don t be shy. The door is open for you!

6 Dongzhi (Winter Solstice) By Frank Lin The festival Dongzhi iss celebrated on December 22 or 23 according to the solar calendar. In the northern hemisphere, the sun shines right on top of the Tropic of Capricorn, also called thee Dongzhii line, so that the night is the longest in the year. This year will end soon.. People have some wishes for the next year and hope that everything will go well irrespective of whether they are farmers, teachers, or entrepreneurs. Theyy also pray that their t acquaintances are blessed and protected. As a result, peoplee worship God andd their ancestors and prepare tangyuan and vegetable buns as offerings. Tangyuan is Chinese for rice balls. One can prepare two kinds of tangyuan: sticky rice with a sesamee filling or sticky rice with a peanut filling. When adults and children eat these rice balls, it is said that they grow g a year older. Before offering their prayers to God and their ancestors at a hall onn the morning of Dongzhi, people prepare sweet tangyuann soup and vegetable buns. They then make two or threee tangyuans and stick them on the doors, windows, chairs and tables, beds, and cabinets. The childrenn are not allowed to eat them until they become dry, whichh takes a few days.. It is said that the children will be blessed and safe after they y eat the dry tangyuans. Tangyuan It is quite simple to make tangyuan. First, glutinouss rice is immersed in water. Then, using a stone mill, the rice is made into a thick liquid andd then strained. It soon becomes sticky and elastic, called 圓仔棲 in Chinese. Finally, the rice

7 balls are kneaded by hand. Even children are encouraged to join in this activity. They knead different shapes from 圓仔棲, such as chickens and female dogs, called 做雞母狗仔 in Chinese. Thesee animals symbolize the farmers hopes of having many domestic animals such as a horses,, cattle, sheep, chickens, dogs, and pigs and prayers that the fruit trees in the orchard flourish. f Vegetable buns People also make crescent-shaped vegetable buns. Again, these are very easy to make. First, the glutinous rice is ground to powder. It is then kneaded with mature Jersey Cudweed and Chrysanthemum frutescens until it becomes dough-like. Ingredients like bamboo slices, bean curd, and dry pickled radish are added to this dough to complete the vegetable buns. Tonic foods People also eat tonic foods such as ginger duckk soup with Chinesee herbs and mutton stewed in herbal soup. According to Chinese medicine, tonic foods have a warm or hot nature. Too much tonic food results in a running r bloody nose. It should therefore be eaten in moderation. At Dongzhi, tonic foods are eaten to fight the t cold and keep warm. Resources: 1. Information about Dongzhi f rom the Internet 2. The book A Trip to Taiwan, 東華華書局

8 The Dongzhi Festiva al By Pamy Tsai The T Dongzhi festival (Winter Solstice) is one of the most important winter festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians. Traditionally, Dongzhi iss also a time for family get-togethers. The origin of Dongzhi is directly connected with the Chinese calendar. Dongzhi is the first day of winter. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, there are 24 solar termss in a year, of which the winter solstice is the most important. The winter solstice usually comes around December 22 or 23. Also, because of the natural phenomen na of the planets, the t night of Dongzhi is the longest in the year. The Lunar New Yearr comes after Dongzhi. It means thatt the customs of Dongzhi are no different from that of the Lunar New Year; the Chinese think that Dongzhi is as important as thee Lunar New Year. Most families get together to eat tangyuan, or Chinese whitee balls, during Dongzhi. Tangyuan symbolizes satisfaction and luck, and its main significance is that after youu eat tangyuan, it is said that you will grow a year older. Tangyuan is made of sticky rice and has either sesame or peanut filling. In Taiwan, there are two different kinds of tangyuan Taiwanese style and Suzhou style. Some people also like to have salty tangyuan in winter. Just like the people in Taiwan, people in China and other countries also eat specific dishes during Dongzhi, although they may differ in variety. For example, in the north of China,, people eat dumplings inn honor of their ancestors. In Hangchow,, they eatt wontons, which are a thin stuffed dumplings served with soup, to worship their ancestors. Inn Zhejiang, people eat buckwheat noodles to get rid of poisonous chemicals in the stomach. In Japan, they eat pumpkins and say, eating pumpkins on Dongzhi can increase longevity. Many different kinds of food are prepared in different areas during Dongzhi.. I think that whatever the food we eat in celebration, we all hope to stay peaceful and happy.

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